Emmy Voting System Altered

Actors on low-rated television shows may stand a better chance of scoring a prime-time Emmy nomination thanks to voting changes announced Tuesday by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Instead of the traditional popular vote among academy members, the five nominations for best lead performers in comedy and drama series, as well as the shows themselves, will be selected by blue-ribbon panels from a larger pool of nominees voted on by members at large.

The same procedures are already in place for performers in a music-variety show and guest actors in a series but will not be used in supporting actor races.

“This new voting initiative hits the issue of a narrow nomination’s process head-on,” academy Chief Executive Dick Askin said. It “significantly increases the potential for the widest and most diverse selection of nominees as possible.”

The Emmys will be presented Aug. 27.